Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Go See 'Eating Disorder'

Does Christopher Johnson at Live Theatre Workshop’s Etcetera ever take a break?

If you missed The Eating Disorder Talent Show last weekend, the latest offering from the late night theater series continues two more weekends on Fridays and Saturdays, through Saturday, Aug. 21, at 10:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 at the box office. The house opens at 10 p.m., and you can call 327-4242 for reservations.

Johnson, artistic director of Etcetera, is in almost every show, and if he's not performing, he's probably directing. This time, he's performing in a biographical play he wrote, joined by Kristi Loera, playing the Mother character, and Danielle Dryer (who played a fantastic Riff Raff in Etcetera's The Rocky Horror Picture Show), playing the Sister. The show is directed by Leslie J. Miller.

An autobiographical memory play written and performed by the author, The Eating Disorder Talent Show, chronicles his misadventures in growing up gay, bulimic and bipolar in the American Theatre. Hilariously tragic and painfully hopeful, this honest and sometimes extremely gritty look at how hard it can be to stomach a chaotic and abusive childhood examines the roots of addiction and sexuality in a time when mental health physicians are handing out prescription drugs like Halloween candy.